NASL Article Details



Press Release

NASL Elects New Board & Celebrates Member of the Year at 28th Annual Meeting

NASL, 10/24/2017


NASL issued a press release on Monday, October 23, 2017, announcing the election of the NASL Board of Directors for 2017 – 2018 and celebrating NASL’s Member of the Year. 

 

NASL Elects New Board & Celebrates Member of the Year at 28th Annual Meeting
NASL Board Reflects Diversity of Membership & Complexity of Issues Ahead


Washington, DC – The National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL) elected a new slate of officers and directors for the association’s Board of Directors last week during the NASL 28th Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada. MatrixCare President & CEO John Damgaard was elected by the NASL Board of Directors to another year as the association’s President.

The NASL Board reflects the diversity of the full membership, which ranges from providers – i.e., rehabilitation companies that collectively employ more than 300,000 individuals, including speech-language pathologists (SLPs), physical therapists (PTs), occupational therapists (OTs), and other provider groups that care for hundreds of thousands of patients – to health information technology developers; suppliers of nursing and therapy products and equipment; and clinical laboratories, portable x-ray and diagnostic testing services that serve the long term and post-acute care sector. This diversity is part of NASL’s strength in dealing with complex issues and why the association has earned a solid reputation among policymakers as an honest broker of health policy.

NASL’s new officers elected by the Board of Directors are:

  • President: John Damgaard, President & Chief Executive Officer of MatrixCare;
  • Vice President & Chair, NASL Medical Services Committee: Martha Schram, President of Aegis Therapies;
  • Vice President & Chair, NASL IT Committee, Robert E. Baker, II, President, Senior Housing at LG CNS Healthcare Solutions;
  • Vice President & Chair, Diagnostic Testing Committee: Alan Morrison, Senior Vice President, Business Development & Government Relations for Trident USA Health Services;
  • Treasurer: Martha Shaker, President of Concept Rehab, Inc.;
  • Secretary: Tara Roberts, Vice President of Rehabilitation & Wound Care Services for Nexion Health Management, Inc.; and
  • Immediate Past President: Garry Pezzano, Senior Vice President, Clinical Practice for Genesis Rehab Services.


The NASL membership elected new Board members and re-elected others who continue their service on the NASL Board of Directors, including:

  • Mike Billings, Infinity Rehab;
  • Sheila Capitosti, Functional Pathways;
  • Judy Elmore, AFFIRMA Rehabilitation;
  • Denise Kelly, Five Star Rehab & Wellness Services;
  • Jane Moffett, Casamba;
  • Carrie O’Connell, HCS (Health Care Software); and
  • Julie Rettberg, ONR, Inc.


These newly elected officers and board members join current board members including: Ryan Beddingfield, PruittHealth; Christine Busby, Signature Rehab Services; Mike Capstick, Select Rehabilitation; Cathy de Verteuil, Optima Healthcare Solutions; Laura Dennis, Restore Therapy Services; Dustin Freas, Flagship Rehabilitation; Tracy Fritts, Consonus Healthcare Services; Brian Garner, Medline; Peggy Gourgues, Reliant Rehabilitation; Shawn Halcsik, Encore Rehabilitation; Lance Hill, The Therapy Center; Dan Hirschfeld, Genesis Rehab Services; Natalie Hooper, Rehab Pro; Tom Jeffers, Hill-Rom; Peter Klug, Direct Supply; Debbie Koepsel, Accelerated Care Plus; Linda Kolleng, Symbria, Inc.; Mindy Lankenau, Paragon Rehabilitation; Robert Latz, Trinity Rehab Services; Glenda Mack, Kindred Healthcare/RehabCare; Michelle Moore-Andrews, Integra Rehabilitation; Delaine Rice-White, HCR ManorCare; and Rick Speas, HealthPRO/Heritage.

NASL Board members are thought leaders in ancillary care and services for the long term and post-acute care (LTPAC) sector. “NASL is fortunate to have a Board of Directors that not only understands the importance of supporting the host industry, but is eager to partner with Congress and federal government agencies like CMS and ONC,” commented MatrixCare CEO John Damgaard, whose company is one of the largest LTPAC technology providers in the country. “I’ve witnessed the incredible strides that NASL’s made in ensuring that its members are literally ‘at the table’ and truly able to impact the policies that are shaping this sector. It’s because NASL is making such a difference in LTPAC policy that I’m honored to work with this outstanding Board and to continue to serve as the NASL Board President,” concluded Damgaard.

The association also recognized Leigh Ann Frick, President of Care Navigation Consulting, LLC, as NASL’s Member of the Year. In presenting the award, NASL Board President John Damgaard noted, “Leigh Ann goes above and beyond in all of her work with NASL – serving on nearly every workgroup and reaching back out to staff with follow up from workgroup calls and guidance in preparing summaries of clinical discussions.”